Recently, I attended the 2011 Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco, CA at Golden Gate Park.  For those of you who are unaware of Outside Lands, I suggest you dig yourself out from under your rock and join the rest of the mustache sporting, marijuana indulging, barefoot dancing, cut-off jean shorts wearing, Hipsters that make this one of the most exciting festivals each year.

Ok, maybe I was a little harsh on you…especially considering that personally, I only fit into two of those categories (I’ll let you decide which two)…but this is definitely a life experience like none other, regardless of your views on that kind of debauchery.

The bill for the 3 day extravaganza included performances by Muse, Arcade Fire, 2 back to back sets by Phish, The Black Keys, The Shins (added last minute), The Decemberists, and the list goes on…..

This was my first Outside Lands experience, and the show did not disappoint.  On top of having an INCREDIBLE line up of phenomenal musical acts and allowing me an opportunity to be front row for Arcade Fire, Muse, The Black Keys, and The Tune-Yards, the festival maintained a tremendous sense of community by giving everyone a true taste of San Francisco.

Most of my afternoons began by heading to the wine tasting tent titled “Wine Lands” which was filled with over 30 different area vineyards for attendees to sample. There were also a plethora of local restaurants scattered about the festival grounds that had set up vendor stands allowing us to sample the local Nor-Cal fare with everything from local organic ice cream and smores, to fried macaroni and cheese.

Staying true to remaining a very “Northern Californian” event, there were ample opportunities to “recycle for points” where you could win camping gear and even a ticket to next year’s festival, as well as specific areas to learn about the benefits of alternative energy, gardening workshops, refillable water stations, and one of the music stages was powered entirely by solar energy.

On top of the ample options of things to do at the festival, everyone in the crowd was there to have a great time and enjoy themselves which set the tone for the weekend.  On Friday evening my girlfriend and I even met a random group of local San Franciscans attending the festival who later invited us back to their home that evening for late night food and drinks.

My biggest complaint of the festival was that space was fairly limited considering the size of the crowd.  But, despite my impending claustrophobia, I had an amazing weekend and would recommend this festival to just about anyone who likes good music, good food and wine, and good people.

See you there in 2012!

-Drew

Best Band: The Black Keys

Best Winery: Drew

Best Restaurant: Andalu

Some of my shots:

(that's Linda)

We’re giving away a 16GB iPad exclusively through Facebook!

We’ll also be giving away additional US Music Jobs annual subscriptions to four lucky runners up. To be eligible to win, all you need to do is register for free as a member of US Music Jobs first. **No purchase necessary, and no credit card information is taken.** Then, to receive the exclusive link that will allow you to enter the contest, simply head to our US Music Jobs Facebook Page and click “Like”.

Once you’ve “Liked” us, we’ll be sending out an exclusive update* via Facebook on Tuesday, July 27th. In the update you’ll find the link to enter yourself to win a 16GB iPad and an annual subscription to US Music Jobs.

If you’ve already “Liked” our US Music Jobs Facebook Page, you’re all set, and now just keep an eye out for our exclusive update* on Facebook.

Thanks again and we look forward to rewarding you!

* Updates can be located within your Facebook message center in the lefthand column, or you can visit this link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=updates

Full Terms & Conditions

1. ABOUT THE CONTEST/ELIGIBILITY: The Contest begins at 12:00:00 am on July 27th, 2010 and ends at 11:59:59 pm on August 3rd, 2010. The contest is only open to citizens of the United States of America. For participants below the age of 18 at the time of entry, it is acknowledged that the child has participated with full parental consent. Employees and partners of Media Match Inc., its affiliates, subsidiaries, and any entity involved in the development, production, implementation, administration or fulfillment of the contest and the immediate family members and persons living in the same household as such individuals, are not eligible to participate or win.

2. HOW TO ENTER: To enter, register on the Contest website. Entries should not contain profanity or inappropriate language or content. Inappropriate entries will be disqualified by Media Match Inc. in its sole discretion. One entry per person during the contest period. No purchase necessary, and no credit card information is taken.

3. WINNER SELECTION: Winner selection will be conducted on August 4th, and will be completely random. Of all entrants to the contest, the first four randomly selected participants will receive a one year subscription to Music Jobs USA free of charge. The fifth and final randomly selected participant will receive an Apple iPad – 16GB, and a one year subscription to Music Jobs USA free of charge. The decision of the participants selected will be final and binding.

4. WINNERS LIST: The names of the winners will be announced on the Music Jobs USA website (us.music-jobs.com) after the contest is over for a period of time determined by Media Match Inc. The Participant grants Media Match Inc. irrevocable consent in perpetuity to the use his/her name, photographs, provided by the Participants or taken during the Prize distribution in connection with the Contest, in any and all applications including but not limited to advertising, promotion, text, articles, at any time without the Participants further knowledge or consent. If Media Match Inc. is unable to contact a winner (after having taken reasonable measures) within 15 days after the close of the contest, the organizers will declare another winner.

5. PRIZES: All prizes will be handed out after the contest period ends. Reporting and payment of all applicable taxes, fees, and/or surcharges are the sole responsibility of each winner. Media Match Inc. will not replace any lost or stolen prize. Media Match Inc. reserves the right to substitute any prize with another prize of equal or greater value at its sole discretion. Any difference between the actual value of a prize and the approximated prize value as stated in these rules will not be awarded. Media Match Inc. shall not be responsible for the quality or deficiency etc. of the Prize and no claim or request, whatsoever, in this respect shall be entertained by Media Match Inc. The Prize(s) shall not be transferable / redeemable for cash. No request shall be entertained by Media Match Inc. in this behalf.

6. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION: By entering, participants release and hold harmless Media Match Inc., its subsidiaries, affiliates, employees and partners from any and all liability or any injuries, loss or damage arising from or in connection with participation in this promotion or acceptance/use of any prize. Participation in this contest implies acceptance of all the terms and conditions of the contest. The Participant grants Media Match Inc. irrevocable consent in perpetuity to use all submitted content in any form or manner.

7. GENERAL: This contest is governed by the laws of the United States of America. All disputes in respect of this Contest shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent court/s in Los Angeles, CA. Media Match Inc. reserves the right to suspend, cancel, or modify this promotion if fraud or any other causes beyond its control destroys the integrity of the promotion, as determined by Media Match Inc.

This contest is organized and managed by Media Match Inc., Los Angeles, CA 90048.

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So, make sure you are a US Music Jobs member, become a fan on Facebook, and look out for the exclusive update via Facebook. Good Luck!

The US Music Jobs Team

As well as from appearing on your profile, recently added mp3s are also featured on our front page and all the key US Music Jobs site pages – if you contribute regularly you are more likely to attract attention and earn new fans.

The members I have featured below are all fine examples of the value of keeping your profile up to date – adding mp3s, photos, videos, press cuttings and more will make your profile easy to search and attractive to other users and employers to read. Regularly adding info and media means that I am more likely to find you in our network – next time it could be your music shared here and across the US Music Jobs online profiles!

US Music Jobs member: Silvia Pratesi

Recommended Listening: You can do the impossible (Musical Theatre)
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US Music Jobs member: John Runowicz

Recommended Listening: Running From The Blues (Blues)
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US Music Jobs member: Lucy Blanco

Recommended Listening: Bye Bye Blackbird (Jazz)
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US Music Jobs member: Gene Townsel

Recommended Listening: Chrissy/From Album (Pop)
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US Music Jobs member: Paul Mills

Recommended Listening: The Painter (Contemporary)
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US Music Jobs member: Daniel Tortoledo

Recommended Listening: Throughout These Years (Pop)
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US Music Jobs member: Ulysses Salett

Recommended Listening: Come on Home (Contemporary)
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US Music Jobs member: Kremena Lyutskanova

Recommended Listening: Beauty Girl (Classical)
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If you would like to be featured in future US Music Jobs blog posts, then update your profile regularly and leave a message on my profile wall (another feature that you should use for networking – look out for a future blog post!)

Lee Jarvis.

We at US Music Jobs are excited to start up a new promotion. If you are an unpaid registered member of Music Jobs and own a blog or website, you can get one month of paid membership for FREE. Don’t have an account yet? Sign up, and get your profile running for free, here!

How does it work?

If you are a registered US Music Jobs member and you have a personal blog, this will be quite easy for you. Simply write in your blog about US Music Jobs and include a link to our site. A couple of possible blog post ideas include a short or detailed description of the site, how Music Jobs has helped you in your job hunt, an informative wiki-like profile of our site, or you can write a review about US Music Jobs.

If you don’t have a blog yet, there are plenty of free blog providers that you can join, including Blogger, WordPress, TypePad, LiveJournal, and many more.

Have a website, but no blog? No problem! Just write about us on one of your pages, refer people back to us, and link back to our site.

You can link to the US Music Jobs Homepage (us.music-jobs.com) , but it may be more useful for your readers if you linked to the jobs board page at http://us.music-jobs.com/jobsboard.php. But, if you feel we have a page on our site more relevant to your readers, feel free to link back to that page instead (ie, the “About Us page“). (Remember, the link has to be clickable. To do this on most blogging platforms, highlight the text you want to make a link, click the icon that looks like a globe with a chain link in front of it, then press OK or DONE).

Once you have your blog post up, send us the following to usmj_promo@music-jobs.com:

1. Your Name and US Music Jobs username (click here to sign up for free)
2. Your website or blog’s URL with the posting about US Music Jobs

Also, if you know any artists or anyone in the music industry that is not with Music Jobs currently, why not tell them about this promotion? It’s a great opportunity for non members to try out our service at no cost. Just have them sign up for a free account at the freelancer registration page to get started!

This promotion will last from today, August 6, 2009 until , September 6, 2009. Members who qualify for the free one month’s subscription will be contacted by email.

Thanks, everyone!
US Music Jobs

Conditions and terms: URLs and links to US Music Jobs must be clickable. Links with the “no-follow” tag in the HTML are not considered eligible for the promotion. Please allow up to three business days for approval. Link and info must be posted outside of US Music Jobs. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other sites that use “no-folow” and framed browsing do not qualify. Only one free month subscription per member. Free month contingent on Music Jobs’s link presence for a minimum of 1 month on members’ blog/website.